Increased use of cadaver specimens as a method for improving medical student satisfaction with clinical ear anatomy teaching at St George's, University of London: a pilot study

Background Delivering sufficient otology education for undergraduates is known to be difficult, with limited teaching time being a contributing factor. Increasing student access to dissections of the ear could serve to increase satisfaction with teaching at St George's, University of London, UK. Objective To evaluate student satisfaction with clinical ear anatomy teaching and investigate whether it can be improved using dissected specimens. Method Participants completed an online survey and knowledge examinations, both before and after attending a new tutorial, with answers from before and after the session being compared. Results Pre-teaching satisfaction scores concerning teaching were low, at an average of 2.45 (out of 7), with a mean examination result of 6.53 (out of 10). Post-teaching average satisfaction increased by 3.20 points to 5.65 (out of 7) (p < 0.01) and examination scores increased by 1.53 points to 8.07 (out of 10) (p < 0.01). Conclusion Students are supportive of increased access to cadaver dissections of the ear, and facilitating this can improve satisfaction with otology teaching.